New York judge orders Trump to pay $5.8 million in damages to journalist Carroll

A federal judge cleared the way for journalist E. Jean Carroll to collect nearly $5.8 million in damages from Donald Trump for sexual assault and defamation.

New York judge orders Trump to pay $5.8 million in damages to journalist Carroll

A New York federal judge on Wednesday issued an order allowing journalist Elizabeth Jean Carroll to collect nearly $5.8 million in damages from President Donald Trump. The award stems from a 2023 civil trial in which a jury found that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in 1996 and later defamed her when she spoke publicly about the incident.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that the 82-year-old writer may receive the payment along with accrued interest dating back to the original verdict. Carroll's attorneys requested the disbursement after the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review Trump's appeal of the three-year-old civil judgment.

Trump has already provided the funds, which were held in an escrow account during the appellate process, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Approximately one hour after Kaplan's order was issued, Trump's legal team filed an appeal with the federal appeals court in Manhattan. A spokesperson for Trump's attorneys described the case as a "Democrat-funded witch hunt" and repeated claims that Carroll's allegations were fraudulent.

Carroll first detailed the alleged assault in a 2019 memoir, describing an encounter in a Manhattan department store fitting room. Trump has consistently denied knowing Carroll and accused her of fabricating the story for political purposes and book sales.

In a separate case, a different Manhattan jury awarded Carroll $83 million in January 2024 for additional defamatory statements made by Trump. That judgment remains under appeal.

Source: Deník.cz / AP

Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)